Human composting has just become a post-life option in California.
California’s governor on Sunday signed a bill allowing the process of converting bodies into soil.
Despite opposition from the State’s Catholic bishops, the law will take effect in 2027
At present, burial, cremation and alkaline hydrolysis are the only death-care choices available in the Golden State.
Otherwise known as natural organic reduction, human composting targets “individuals who want a different method to honour their remains after death”.
The state of Washington legalised the process in 2019. Colorado was the second state to legalise it, followed by Oregon and Vermont.
Human composting is seen as a more sustainable alternative to cremation which requires fossil fuels and releases carbon dioxide.
In the human composting method, a body is placed in a reusable vessel, covered with wood chips and aerated. This creates an environment for microbes and essential bacteria. The body, over a span of about 30 days, is fully transformed into soil.
Kathleen Domingo, executive director for the California Catholic Conference, said the process “reduces the human body to simply a disposable commodity”.
In June this year, the California Catholic Conference submitted a letter of opposition in reaction to the bill.
In the letter, Domingo likened natural organic reduction to methods of disposal of livestock.
Using this method “can create an unfortunate spiritual, emotional and psychological distancing from the deceased,” she wrote.
In New York, where a similar bill awaits the governor’s signature, the New York State Catholic Conference is also concerned.
In a statement the Conference said composting human remains is inappropriate.
Acknowledging the variety of beliefs concerning “the reverent and respectful treatment of human remains,” the Conference submitted: “We believe there are a great many New Yorkers who would be uncomfortable at best with this proposed composting/fertilising method…”
The process was “more appropriate for vegetable trimmings and eggshells than for human bodies” the Conference wrote.
In California, the massive number of COVID-19 deaths inundated funeral homes. This led to Los Angeles County’s suspension of air quality regulations on cremation.
Democrat State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who introduced the legislation, said it was another “sad reminder” of the need to offer a “more environmentally friendly option.
“I look forward to continuing my legacy to fight for clean air by using my reduced remains to plant a tree,” Garcia said after the Governor signed the bill.
Death-care specialists say the new, environmentally friendly procedure is crucial. Cemeteries are filling up and people are looking for more sustainable practices.
Under the California bill, the soil created by the human composting method could be used on private land with permission.
It would be subject to the same restrictions as scattering cremated remains in the State.
The bill also prohibits human remains from being “commingled with those of another person,” unless they are family.
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